When you ride the subway — because learning instead of playing bad online games is so underground (see what I did there?).

When you want to spend more money on an online shopping app but you know you don’t need new clothes (and you don’t have the money anyway).

While you wait for your muesli to soften.

When you want to snack between meals.

On your way to the language exam while your mom drives and you ride shotgun.

In the bar of a foreign country, learning some useful phrases while you wait to be served.

When the initial plan of going to the gym fails but you still want to feel like you did something productive with your day.

On the toilet. I won’t elaborate on this.

In line at the supermarket, when all the people in front of you are old ladies.

When you realize you will never get that dream job by dreaming but by adding that extra language to your CV.

When you run out of data, you can’t find wifi anywhere and you realize you have a couple of lessons downloaded and ready to be aced.

When you’re getting your hair cut and you don’t feel like talking to the chatty hairdresser (plus, you look weird with the wet hair glued to your face and all those towels around you, so you don’t want to just stare at yourself in the mirror).

When you are browsing the Internet and you realize there are way too many foreign words you STILL don’t understand.

While attending a boring conference with no cool slides to look at.

While you wait for your parents to turn on Skype to call you (we know this can take ages).

At half-time, if you don’t need to pee.

When on vacation abroad, instead of wasting your time studying the map, just learn the words to ask locals for directions.

When your beach read is too full of sand to be legible but lying there doing nothing and “living the life” is too boring.

Apps are all the rage nowadays, and for good reason. They can help you out in just about every area of your life, whether it’s keeping fit, organizing your schedule, communicating with friends, or even learning a language. Just like any tool though, you need to know how to use it properly to really benefit. Here’s a user guide for optimal app use, provided courtesy of an app-addicted superuser.

Cristina Gusano started to speak before she could walk, and some would testify that she’s never stopped since. She’s lived in Berlin since 2011 and joined Babbel as a writer in 2015. Rather than emailing, she sends “old-school” letters to her family and friends and likes to sing while riding her bicycle. Follow me on Twitter.

Cristina Gusano started to speak before she could walk, and some would testify that she’s never stopped since. She’s lived in Berlin since 2011 and joined Babbel as a writer in 2015. Rather than emailing, she sends “old-school” letters to her family and friends and likes to sing while riding her bicycle. Follow me on Twitter.